Senso del gusto, addio

Oggi è festa a Singapore (fine del Ramadan) ma io lavoro perché in cambio prendo libero questo venerdì che viene, quando saremo già in Italia J

Grazie a Dio mancano solo 4 giorni alla partenza perché oggi abbiamo toccato il fondo, gastronomicamente parlando.

Lavoro da casa e Marco passa dal letto, al divano per mezza giornata prima di decidersi ad andare a nuotare. Poi ci va e mi lascia in pigiama seduta al tavolo della cucina al mio computer.

Torna, abbiamo fame e l’eco nel frigorifero.

Prepariamo cibo veloce, velocissimo. Cibo finto.

Cous Cous marocchino liofilizzato (con tutti gli ingredienti già dentro!) e tom yum noodles secchi al sapore di pesce, ma di pesce non si vede manco l’ombra.

Ole’.

Marco alla fine ha ancora voglia di qualcosa e affetta soppressata calabrese.

Papille gustative perdonateci, siamo stanchi e abbiamo bisogno di vacanza.

Our latest trip to Japan

Back to a ‘normal’ week in Singapore (see previous post).
Although to many it can seem exciting, travelling constantly is very tiring. Especially when it’s work related and after a day at work you need to go for dinner with colleagues and keep the conversation going…
I love Japan though.
And if trips to JTC are quite exhausting, I would go back now if I could, not to mention how I would love to live there!
Most of the days were sunny, not too hot and so perfect for walks at the weekend!!
We went to Yanaka on a Saturday to walk around houses from pre-WWII. It was very different from the rest of the city, an oasis of peace lost in time, with traditional tiny shops where the owners were cooking delicious rice crackers. Shrines in flowery gardens, the Japanese trees I love (and want in my garden when back home) and a very cool art shop. Ended up in Ueno park to see a lotus pond, that I could stare for hours, such was its charm…
The afternoon was sweet and it slowly dissolved in a not too busy Shimbashi area for dinner, in a Japanese/Spanish fusion restaurant.
That’s one more thing I love about Japan, there are so many fusion eateries! And so delicious!! I love the diversity and the experiments they do… even if it means eating pizza straight after some sushi while drinking red wine.
Something Italy is definitely not ready for.
On Sunday we took a train for a day trip to Kamakura. A lovely little city by the sea rich of temples and with the famous Daibutsu, massive Buddha.
The beach was crowded with Japanese families completely dressed and hiding from the sun in tents and desperate Westerners sucking up the sun while laying  on a very dirty beach, full of all what the tides have brought.
We strolled around, looked into the little, unique shops around, and bought cherry blossom shells.
Pure bliss!
There is something nostalgic about that country that touches my heart.
Lost in time but yet at the front of the most modern technologies.
So generous, hospitable and yet so traditional and inward facing. Definitely unique in its kind.

Till soon my beloved Land of the Rising Sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Die Slowly

Another day at work, another lunch in a local canteen and another ‘death in small dose’ as Pablo Neruda would say…

EVERY day I go for lunch with my colleagues I get a comment about me eating. EVERY SINGLE DAY.

It’s usually about me eating fast. I promise you, anyone would be fast compared to people that eat one noodle or rice grain at a time.

It can also be about me being hungry (we eat the same amount, and I am not particularly fat..), or how expensive my meal is (5 Singaporean dollars compared to the 3 they spend).

EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY.

Every single day a bit of me dies. Every single day I wish I did not have to endure this. I wish I was not the different one, but I am. And even when I don’t want to notice it, it’s highlighted to me.

Whilst for many lunch is a break, for me it’s very much a meeting, part of my job.

I don’t want to sound negative, because it is not all bad, but the same comment every day is really hard to bear. It always has. What can I say, I am a sensitive soul.

Today we also talked about dishwashers, and the fact that is not common in Singapore. So young colleagues setting up a new house are not going to buy one because they don’t believe in it.

At my comment “You don’t have to believe in it, it’s not a religion” I had weird faces looking at me, mostly lost. So I am the weirdo that misses having a dishwasher.

Fucking yeah.